The proposed scheme, which is being driven by the Manuherikia Irrigation Cooperative Society (MICS), would draw water from the Clutha River and be used for irrigation and domestic supply in an area covering 3000ha.
Central Otago District Council and Vincent Community Board are each contributing $20,000 towards a $160,000 feasibility study on the scheme, which has been commissioned by the MICS and is being carried out by the environmental section of Opus International Consultants' Wellington branch.
Otago Regional Council and MICS are also providing $80,000 and $40,000 respectively towards the study, which was started last year and should be finished in about two months.
Dr Macpherson said the proposal, originally mooted by MICS vice-chairman and Springvale farmer Gary Kelliher, had huge merit and ‘‘deserved to succeed''.
‘‘Gary's proposal is a great piece of work and well thought out, innovative and achievable.''
The MICS had held a water permit for 4.53 cumecs (or 4530 litres a second) of water from Lake Dunstan since 2003, when water earmarked for irrigation under the Clyde Dam Empowering Act was ‘‘left over'', Mr Kelliher said.
An initial design for a scheme using 2 cumecs of that water for the Dairy Creek, Waikerikeri Terraces area was already in place and awaiting funding from landowners before moving to the next stage, he said.
Being able to use the remaining 2.53 cumecs as a new supply for Alexandra, Clyde and the Manuherikia Valley was an exciting possibility that had CODC and ORC support and could solve ongoing problems with domestic and irrigation supply, Mr Kelliher said.
‘‘While our society holds the Lake Dunstan water permit we view it as a community asset and wish to make it available to all of the community. I think [the new scheme] is achievable and I think it makes a lot of sense.
"I guess it comes down to how much do we value the water that we have and what is its value to us. We're in probably the driest spot in the whole of New Zealand. It makes it very important.''
The concept of the new scheme was to have a water treatment plant at Lake Dunstan, with water piped to Alexandra through a water main that ran parallel to the irrigation line.
Domestic water for outlying areas such as Galloway and Springvale would be supplied from the irrigation line, with each property having ultra-violet treatment for water on site.
Alexandra's current domestic water supply is from a bore field near Boundary Rd, and Clyde's domestic water supply comes from a bore above the Clyde dam.
Residents in the lower Manuherikia Valley get their water from domestic bores, and irrigation water throughout the area comes from a variety of sources including private bores and the Manuherikia River, for which existing water permits expire in 2021
- Pam Jones
